Presidents Behaving Badly: Did Ulysses Grant Commit Perjury?
During the presidency of Ulysses Grant, a number of scandals and fraudulent or dishonest activity was discovered within Grant's administration. Many of Grant's biographers have concluded that Grant's failing was in the appointment of dishonest subordinates and of remaining loyal to these men, rather than any dishonest activity on the part of Grant himself. If one follows the money from these scandals, none of it seems to end up in Grant's pockets. But in some cases, his behavior appears less than stellar when it comes an examination of his part in impeding the prosecution of some of the guilty parties.
One of the worst and most famous scandals to occur during the Grant administration was dubbed the Whiskey Ring of 1875. It came to light from the efforts of Grant's Treasury Secretary Benjamin H. Bristow as well as journalist Myron Colony. The scandal concerned the collection of taxes from whiskey distillers in the midwest, or rather the failure to collect these taxes. Whiskey distillers would often bribe Treasury Department agents who assisted them in evading taxes in return for kickbacks. The agents would under-report or fail to collect the required excise tax of 70 cents per gallon, and then split the savings with the distillers. This was an elaborate system that required the involvement of a number of persons including distillers, storekeepers, revenue agents, and Treasury clerks, who were either paid off or intimidated into co-operating with the dishonest scheme. It was costing the government millions of dollars in lost revenue.
On January 26, 1875, Bristow gave about twenty days' notice to Internal Revenue officers in various sites that they would be moved to different locations, effective February 15, 1875. This was intended to catch the fraudulent officers off guard and allow investigators to uncover what was really going on in their locations. Grant had originally supported the plan, but he later rescinded the order. Grant had doubts about the plan, but his reversal give rise to the suspicion that he was interfering with the investigation. Moving the collectors would have disrupted the ring, but Bristow agreed that it would not provide the necessary evidence on the ring's inner workings to prosecute those responsible.
Bristow continued the investigation. He sent journalist Myron Colony and other spies to gather whiskey shipping and manufacturing information in order to gather enough evidence to prosecute some of the bad actors. On May 13, 1875, with Grant's approval, Bristow seized a number of suspected dishonest distilleries. Hundreds were arrested, and Bristow, with the cooperation of Attorney General Edwards Pierrepont, launched proceedings to bring many members of the ring to trial.
Bristow's investigation disclosed that the Whiskey Ring operated in Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Missouri Revenue Agent John A. Joyce and two of Grant's appointees, Supervisor of Internal Revenue General John McDonald and Orville E. Babcock, the private secretary to the President, were among those indicted in the Whiskey Ring trials. Grant's other private secretary Horace Porter was also involved in the Whiskey Ring. Grant and Babcock were especially close, as he had served as aide-de-camp for Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and participated in the Overland Campaign. After Grant became President in 1869, Babcock was appointed his Private Secretary (similar to a modern day chief of staff) and served until 1876. He had a reputation as being devious and was generally not trusted by many in Congress.
Grant appointed a special prosecutor to prosecute those involved. He chose former Nevada senator John B. Henderson for the post. Henderson, while in the Senate, had been one of the Grant administration's worst critics, and Grant believed that the appointment would demonstrate his integrity in the prosecution of those involved in the Whiskey Ring.
Henderson convened a grand jury, which found that Babcock was one of the ringleaders. When Grant received a letter to this effect, he wrote on it, "Let no guilty man escape." Evidence showed that Babcock sent coded letters to McDonald on how to run the ring in St. Louis. McDonald claimed he gave Babcock $25,000 from the divided profits and personally sent him a $1,000 bill in a cigar box.
After Babcock's indictment, Grant requested that Babcock go through a military trial rather than a public trial. When the grand jury denied his request, Grant became more involved in the prosecution. He issued an order not to give any more immunity to persons involved in the Whiskey Ring. This order made the case against Babcock more difficult to prove in court. Bristow and Henderson needed distillers to testify with immunity in order to pursue the ringleaders. Henderson accused Grant of interfering with the prosecution. Angered by this criticism, Grant fired Henderson as special prosecutor. He replaced Henderson with James Broadhead, a capable lawyer, but someone who was hamstrung in the prosecution because he had little time to get up to speed with the case.
At Babcock's trial, Grant provided a deposition which stated that he had no knowledge that Babcock was involved in the ring. The jury appeared to be swayed by Grant's vouching for his former aide and they quickly acquitted Babcock of any charges. McDonald and Joyce were convicted in the graft trials and sent to prison. On January 26, 1877, President Grant pardoned McDonald.
At the time there were rumors that Grant himself was involved with the ring and was diverting its profits to his 1872 re-election campaign. Grant said that he refused to believe Babcock was guilty, even when Bristow personally presented him with damaging evidence. On the advice of Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, the President did not testify in the court case. Instead he gave a deposition in front of a congressional legal representative at the White House. His testimony was given on Saturday, February 12, 1876 before Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite, a Grant appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the deposition, Grant was asked these questions and gave these answers:
Eaton: Have you ever seen anything in the conduct of General Babcock, or has he ever said anything to you, which indicated to your mind that he was in any way interested in or concerned with the Whiskey Ring at St. Louis or elsewhere?
Grant: Never.
Eaton: Did General Babcock on or about April 23, 1875, show you a dispatch in these words: St. Louis, April 23, 1875. Gen. O.E. Babcock, Executive Mansion, Washington, D.C. Tell Mack to see Parker of Colorado; & telegram to Commissioner. Crush out St. Louis enemies.
Grant: I did not remember about these dispatches at all until since the conspiracy trials have commenced. I have heard General Babcock's explanation of most or all of them since that. Many of the dispatches may have been shown to me at the time, and explained, but I do not remember it.
Eaton: Perhaps you are aware, General, that the Whiskey Ring have persistently tried to fix the origins of that ring in the necessity for funds to carry on political campaigns. Did you ever have intimation from General Babcock, or anyone else in any manner, directly or indirectly, that any funds for political purposes were being raised by any improper methods?
Grant: I never did. I have seen since these trials intimations of that sort in the newspapers, but never before.
Eaton: Then let me ask you if the prosecuting officers have not been entirely correct in repelling all insinuations that you ever had tolerated any such means for raising funds.
Grant: I was not aware that they had ever attempted to repel any insinuations.
The strategy worked and the Whiskey Ring prosecution never went after Grant. During Babcock's trial in St. Louis the deposition was read to the jury and Babcock was acquitted at trial. After the trial, Grant distanced himself from Babcock. After the trial, Babcock briefly returned to his position as Grant's private secretary, working outside the Oval Office. On the advice of Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, Babcock was dismissed as Grant's private secretary. He was given another position by Grant, that of superintending engineer of public buildings and grounds.
One of Grant's biographers, Pulitzer Prize winning author William S. McFeely, concludes that Grant knew Babcock was guilty and perjured himself in the deposition. According to McFeely the "evidence was irrefutable" against Babcock, and Grant knew this. John McDonald also claimed that Grant knew that the Whiskey Ring existed and perjured himself to save Babcock. But historian Jean Edward Smith believes that the evidence against Babcock was circumstantial and that the St. Louis jury acquitted Babcock because the case against him was not a strong one.
Wherever the truth lies, Grant's popularity decreased significantly following his testimony and after Babcock was acquitted at trial. The unpopularity of Grant's testimony on behalf of his friend Babcock ruined his chances for a third term nomination.
Bristow's investigation resulted in 350 federal indictments. There were 110 convictions, and three million dollars in tax revenues were recovered from the ring.
One of the worst and most famous scandals to occur during the Grant administration was dubbed the Whiskey Ring of 1875. It came to light from the efforts of Grant's Treasury Secretary Benjamin H. Bristow as well as journalist Myron Colony. The scandal concerned the collection of taxes from whiskey distillers in the midwest, or rather the failure to collect these taxes. Whiskey distillers would often bribe Treasury Department agents who assisted them in evading taxes in return for kickbacks. The agents would under-report or fail to collect the required excise tax of 70 cents per gallon, and then split the savings with the distillers. This was an elaborate system that required the involvement of a number of persons including distillers, storekeepers, revenue agents, and Treasury clerks, who were either paid off or intimidated into co-operating with the dishonest scheme. It was costing the government millions of dollars in lost revenue.
On January 26, 1875, Bristow gave about twenty days' notice to Internal Revenue officers in various sites that they would be moved to different locations, effective February 15, 1875. This was intended to catch the fraudulent officers off guard and allow investigators to uncover what was really going on in their locations. Grant had originally supported the plan, but he later rescinded the order. Grant had doubts about the plan, but his reversal give rise to the suspicion that he was interfering with the investigation. Moving the collectors would have disrupted the ring, but Bristow agreed that it would not provide the necessary evidence on the ring's inner workings to prosecute those responsible.
Bristow continued the investigation. He sent journalist Myron Colony and other spies to gather whiskey shipping and manufacturing information in order to gather enough evidence to prosecute some of the bad actors. On May 13, 1875, with Grant's approval, Bristow seized a number of suspected dishonest distilleries. Hundreds were arrested, and Bristow, with the cooperation of Attorney General Edwards Pierrepont, launched proceedings to bring many members of the ring to trial.
Bristow's investigation disclosed that the Whiskey Ring operated in Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Missouri Revenue Agent John A. Joyce and two of Grant's appointees, Supervisor of Internal Revenue General John McDonald and Orville E. Babcock, the private secretary to the President, were among those indicted in the Whiskey Ring trials. Grant's other private secretary Horace Porter was also involved in the Whiskey Ring. Grant and Babcock were especially close, as he had served as aide-de-camp for Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and participated in the Overland Campaign. After Grant became President in 1869, Babcock was appointed his Private Secretary (similar to a modern day chief of staff) and served until 1876. He had a reputation as being devious and was generally not trusted by many in Congress.
Grant appointed a special prosecutor to prosecute those involved. He chose former Nevada senator John B. Henderson for the post. Henderson, while in the Senate, had been one of the Grant administration's worst critics, and Grant believed that the appointment would demonstrate his integrity in the prosecution of those involved in the Whiskey Ring.
Henderson convened a grand jury, which found that Babcock was one of the ringleaders. When Grant received a letter to this effect, he wrote on it, "Let no guilty man escape." Evidence showed that Babcock sent coded letters to McDonald on how to run the ring in St. Louis. McDonald claimed he gave Babcock $25,000 from the divided profits and personally sent him a $1,000 bill in a cigar box.
After Babcock's indictment, Grant requested that Babcock go through a military trial rather than a public trial. When the grand jury denied his request, Grant became more involved in the prosecution. He issued an order not to give any more immunity to persons involved in the Whiskey Ring. This order made the case against Babcock more difficult to prove in court. Bristow and Henderson needed distillers to testify with immunity in order to pursue the ringleaders. Henderson accused Grant of interfering with the prosecution. Angered by this criticism, Grant fired Henderson as special prosecutor. He replaced Henderson with James Broadhead, a capable lawyer, but someone who was hamstrung in the prosecution because he had little time to get up to speed with the case.
At Babcock's trial, Grant provided a deposition which stated that he had no knowledge that Babcock was involved in the ring. The jury appeared to be swayed by Grant's vouching for his former aide and they quickly acquitted Babcock of any charges. McDonald and Joyce were convicted in the graft trials and sent to prison. On January 26, 1877, President Grant pardoned McDonald.
At the time there were rumors that Grant himself was involved with the ring and was diverting its profits to his 1872 re-election campaign. Grant said that he refused to believe Babcock was guilty, even when Bristow personally presented him with damaging evidence. On the advice of Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, the President did not testify in the court case. Instead he gave a deposition in front of a congressional legal representative at the White House. His testimony was given on Saturday, February 12, 1876 before Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite, a Grant appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the deposition, Grant was asked these questions and gave these answers:
Eaton: Have you ever seen anything in the conduct of General Babcock, or has he ever said anything to you, which indicated to your mind that he was in any way interested in or concerned with the Whiskey Ring at St. Louis or elsewhere?
Grant: Never.
Eaton: Did General Babcock on or about April 23, 1875, show you a dispatch in these words: St. Louis, April 23, 1875. Gen. O.E. Babcock, Executive Mansion, Washington, D.C. Tell Mack to see Parker of Colorado; & telegram to Commissioner. Crush out St. Louis enemies.
Grant: I did not remember about these dispatches at all until since the conspiracy trials have commenced. I have heard General Babcock's explanation of most or all of them since that. Many of the dispatches may have been shown to me at the time, and explained, but I do not remember it.
Eaton: Perhaps you are aware, General, that the Whiskey Ring have persistently tried to fix the origins of that ring in the necessity for funds to carry on political campaigns. Did you ever have intimation from General Babcock, or anyone else in any manner, directly or indirectly, that any funds for political purposes were being raised by any improper methods?
Grant: I never did. I have seen since these trials intimations of that sort in the newspapers, but never before.
Eaton: Then let me ask you if the prosecuting officers have not been entirely correct in repelling all insinuations that you ever had tolerated any such means for raising funds.
Grant: I was not aware that they had ever attempted to repel any insinuations.
The strategy worked and the Whiskey Ring prosecution never went after Grant. During Babcock's trial in St. Louis the deposition was read to the jury and Babcock was acquitted at trial. After the trial, Grant distanced himself from Babcock. After the trial, Babcock briefly returned to his position as Grant's private secretary, working outside the Oval Office. On the advice of Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, Babcock was dismissed as Grant's private secretary. He was given another position by Grant, that of superintending engineer of public buildings and grounds.
One of Grant's biographers, Pulitzer Prize winning author William S. McFeely, concludes that Grant knew Babcock was guilty and perjured himself in the deposition. According to McFeely the "evidence was irrefutable" against Babcock, and Grant knew this. John McDonald also claimed that Grant knew that the Whiskey Ring existed and perjured himself to save Babcock. But historian Jean Edward Smith believes that the evidence against Babcock was circumstantial and that the St. Louis jury acquitted Babcock because the case against him was not a strong one.
Wherever the truth lies, Grant's popularity decreased significantly following his testimony and after Babcock was acquitted at trial. The unpopularity of Grant's testimony on behalf of his friend Babcock ruined his chances for a third term nomination.
Bristow's investigation resulted in 350 federal indictments. There were 110 convictions, and three million dollars in tax revenues were recovered from the ring.